Driver, 69, Shot Dead as He Tries to Ram Deputies

A 69-year-old Stanton man was fatally shot by Orange County sheriff’s deputies Wednesday morning when he attempted to run them over with his van after a brief chase, authorities said.

Roberto Peralez was under investigation for drugs and weapons violations, sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said.

According to Amormino, two deputies from the gang enforcement and narcotics team went to Peralez’s home in the 10000 block of Date Street about 7 a.m. to serve a search warrant. Peralez was not home, so investigators went to a methadone clinic at Dale Street and Monroe Avenue in search of him, he said.

Peralez spotted them, jumped into a van and sped off, Amormino said. A short, low-speed chase ensued, he said, with Peralez weaving in and out of traffic before turning onto a dead-end street.

Peralez turned his van around, faced the deputies’ vehicle and stopped, Amormino said. When deputies ordered him to get out, Amormino said, Peralez put the van in reverse, backed up, and then put it in drive and headed at the deputies.

One of the deputies shot at Peralez through the windshield, hitting him in the upper torso, Amormino said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Amormino said the investigators were wearing clothing that clearly marked them as officers, but that their vehicle was unmarked. The names of the deputies involved were not released.

As is standard procedure, the deputies will be placed on paid leave during an investigation into the incident by the Orange County district attorney’s office, Amormino said.